Sales slide continues with small glimmer of hope

Australian new vehicle sales continued their downward slide in July, although the drop shows signs of easing, with small improvements in two states.

The industry reported 83,184 sales for the month, a 2.8 per cent decrease from July 2018.

On a year to date basis, total sales were 637,650 units, a drop of 7.7 per cent.

Tasmania and Western Australia were the only states to show an increase over the July 2018 figures.

Sales in Tassie were up 15 per cent, albeit with a modest total of 1676 units, while WA had a 5 per cent jump from 6966 to 7313.

SUVs continued as the most popular segment with 37,894 sales, followed by passenger vehicles with 25,386 and light commercials on 16,710 sales.

While sales for most brands were down, notable exceptions included Haval, with a nearly three-fold increase from 53 to 140.

Great Wall was also up from 55 to 120, Mercedes-Benz car sales increased by 570, Ferrari went up from 14 to 26, Porsche gained 105 additional buyers and RAM leapt from 37 sales in July 2018 to 261 last month.

Another big winner was the Chinese MG, up from 281 to 702. And Rolls-Royce chalked up 6 sales.

Alpine sold one car, the new Genesis 22, Lamborghini sales dropped from 13 to 5 and Ssangyong went from zero to 121.

Japan remained the leading country of origin with 28,093 vehicles, followed by Thailand the world’s top ute-maker, on 19,981, South Korea (11,652), Germany (6279) and lesser numbers from 20 other nations.

England, once a major supplier of vehicles, (remember the likes of Austin, Hillman, Humber?) supplied only 1915 cars.

Kia’s Picanto remained the top micro car, with nearly 80 per cent of its market sector, Toyota Yaris (888) and Hyundai Accent (848) led the small car segment, Camry was king of the medium cars, Commodore (Opel) dominated the large cars and Kia Carnival was still the most popular people mover.

Ford’s Mustang stayed way in front in sports car sales with 262 sales compared to nearest rival the BMW 2 Series with 76.

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Bill Buys, probably Australia’s longest-serving motoring writer, has been at his craft for more than five decades.
Athough motoring has always been in his DNA, he was also night crime reporter, foreign page editor and later chief reporter of the famed Rand Daily Mail.
He’s twice been shot at, attacked by a rhinoceros and had several chilling experiences in aircraft.
His experience includes stints in traffic law enforcement, motor racing and rallying and writing for a variety of local and international publications.
He has covered countless events, ranging from world motor shows and Formula 1 Grands Prix to Targa tarmac and round-the-houses meetings.
A motoring tragic, he has owned more than 90 cars. Somewhat of a nostalgic, he has a special interest in classic cars.
He is the father of Targa star Robert Buys, who often adds his expertise to Bill’s reviews.